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A new scientific paper authored by GOED and some of its members that attempted to replicate the findings from a paper in 2015 by Albert et al has been published in Scientific Reports. The original paper controversially claimed nearly all fish oil supplements in New Zealand did not contain the EPA and DHA stated on the label and were excessively oxidized. The GOED study found that nearly all — 96% — of the products tested complied with regulatory limits for oxidation for edible oils and 91% complied with label claims about EPA and DHA content.
The GOED paper also assessed the products against G...

It’s common knowledge that the omega-3 industry has been in a sales slump for the past few years. While the market is now showing signs of recovery, there are definitely some lessons to be learned from the activity over the last three years.
Lesson 1: The market was already maturing before the sales decline that started in mid-2013. The omega-3 industry had enjoyed years of double digit growth but as the market matured in North America, it was somewhat inevitable that those growth figures could not be maintained without increased industry investment in marketing and science.
Lesson 2: Ye...

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.
Attributed to Albert Einstein
It is easy to forget that science works through a constant process by which researchers replicate and revisit older studies. The assumptions and conclusions are discussed, the experiment is replicated, sometimes in a different population, sometimes using a slightly different dosage or research methods, and our knowledge grows, step by step. This may seem cumbersome, but it is necessary (the inevitable mistakes get corrected over time), and is actually one of the greatest strengths of ...

The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans were released last week and predictably, they caused controversy and a media firestorm. I say ‘predictably’ because every time they are updated, it makes various interest groups unhappy. However, from our perspective, they continue to reinforce the important role of seafood and omega-3s in the diet, noting that virtually ALL of the EPA and DHA in the American diet are provided by seafood. However, you really would not know seafood is a critical component of the new guidelines if you looked at the media coverage.
To be clear, the Dietary Guidelines ...

The following blog was submitted by Marie Spano, MS, RD, CSCS, CSSD. Marie is a member of the Always Omega-3s Scientific Advisory Council and one of the country's leading sports nutritionists. This post was adapted, with permission, from an original article on Marie's professional blog.
Concussions are common in sports and recreation. Though considered a mild type of traumatic brain injury because they are usually not life-threatening, all concussions should be taken seriously. A single blow to the head can result in short-term loss of brain functioning or long-term changes in thinkin...

Once again the role of omega-3s in health is being called into question, this time in relation to cognitive decline…and once again I feel compelled to try to remind people that we need to look at the overall body of science before drawing conclusions based on a single study. As many scientists have noted, no single study is perfect…so no definitive conclusions can be drawn from a single study. Yet, this is exactly what is happening in the consumer media in response to a new paper from Chew et al on the role of omega-3s and other nutrients in cognitive decline. The results of the study led th...

GOED is pleased to introduce our newly expanded weekly newsletter, now titled The GOED Current. This is our answer to requests from members to provide regular information on a variety of topics while not increasing the number of emails they receive. The GOED Current will be sent out every Monday and we will continue to send out Breaking News alerts separately, but on a less frequent basis. Read on for more details.
In the Monday newsletter, we are now adding a lead editorial article each week. Sometimes this will be on a topic “in the news”; other features will include details about...

GOED is pleased to include a guest blog from Linda Cornish, Executive Director of Seafood Nutrition Partnership, a GOED member with similar goals to increase seafood (and therefore omega-3) consumption in the U.S. Read on for details on an innovative messaging program Seafood Nutrition Partnership has developed.
Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP), a national non-profit and affiliate member of GOED, has as its one of its goals helping women at risk of heart disease eat the recommended amount of seafood and take in adequate amounts of omega-3s. To that end, SNP piloted a grassroots public h...

The study last week in JAMA Oncology and its subsequent media coverage once again underlines the issues with the media — and its misrepresentation of the facts — all too clearly. This particular study examined whether or not one platinum-induced fatty acid (PIFA), a rare polyunsaturated fatty acid called hexadecatetraenoic acid (C16:4 n-3), is present in fish oils and if it is absorbed in humans when consumed, not whether it has an effect on chemotherapy. Yet media headlines implied that fish oil consumption can make cancer patients resistant to chemotherapy.
Some key points:
No hu...

On March 31, The New York Times published an article titled, “Fading claims on fish oils.” The article suggests that the majority of clinical trials measuring effects of fish oil have found “no evidence that fish oil lowers risk for heart attack or stroke.” An important question the article did not address is, “What are the heart health benefits of fish oil?” Here is a more complete answer to that question.
The EPA and DHA omega-3s found in fish oils are just like any other nutrient—they are important for your whole body and are a basic part of human nutrition and a building block for eve...